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Lawyers have said that Boris Johnson’s speech at the conservative conference denigrating “left-handed human rights lawyers” and the government’s sustained hostility toward the legal profession risks sparking hatred and undermining the rule of law.
In quick responses to the prime minister’s speech at the party’s virtual conference on Tuesday, lawyers condemned his comments for going beyond the facts by Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Johnson told his online audience: “We are standing by that police too, protecting the public by changing the law to stop the early release of serious violent and sex offenders and preventing the entire criminal justice system from being paralyzed by what the Secretary of the Interior undoubtedly and rightly called in leftist human rights lawyers and other benefactors. “
In August, the Home Office posted a video on Twitter criticizing “activist lawyers” for allegedly thwarting the department’s efforts to deport people without the right to stay in the UK.
The two largest professional legal bodies in England and Wales, the Bar Council and the Law Society, responded immediately to the latest allegations.
Simon Davis, president of the Law Society, which represents attorneys, said: “The government’s repeated attacks on the integrity of the legal profession are deeply concerning. This divisive language serves no one and puts lawyers and their clients at risk.
“All lawyers advise their clients on their rights under the laws created by parliament. Legal rights cannot be rewritten through rhetoric. The justice system determines the validity of claims independently of the government, the media, and public opinion.
“In countries where lawyers cannot do their jobs for fear of intimidation, the rule of law is weakened. The consequences are a society that becomes less secure, less stable and less fair. “
Amanda Pinto QC, president of the Council of Lawyers, which represents lawyers, said: “It is shocking and worrying that our own prime minister endorses and expands attempts to politicize and attack lawyers for simply doing their work in the public interest.
“Attorneys, including those employed by the government itself, are absolutely vital to the functioning of our underfunded criminal justice system. Your professional duty is to your client and to the court, and not to political games.
“The correct application of the laws of this country is fundamental for the justice system and it is the task of a lawyer to present the appropriate arguments for that to happen. Even the Home Secretary is not suggesting that lawyers are crippling the criminal justice system. “
On Tuesday night, Lady Hale, a former Supreme Court president, added to the legal criticism of the government by saying at a seminar organized by Prospect magazine and the Bingham Center for the Rule of Law that the market bill Domestic law, which provides for international breaches of law, could damage Britain’s position in the world.
Hale said: “Obviously there is a potential for reputational damage if the UK can conclude a treaty in one year, and then next year it is unilaterally granted power to break that treaty, albeit in a minor, limited and conditional way. Obviously, it is going to have potential damage to the reputation of the whole of the UK and therefore the UK PLC business. ”
The apparent determination to make lawyers political scapegoats in the public imagination is reminiscent of attacks on the legitimacy of the judiciary in 2016, when justices in the Article 50 Brexit Supreme Court case were branded as “enemies of the people. “by the Daily Mail.
Secretary of Justice in the shadow of Labor, David Lammy, tweeted: “Boris Johnson repeats Priti Patel’s line of attack that the justice system is ‘paralyzed by left-handed lawyers and benefactors.’ Totally embarrassing the same day @LawSociety he warned that these comments put lawyers at risk of physical and verbal attacks.
Stephen Davies, criminal defense attorney at Tuckers Law Firm, aware: “I will defend fearlessly on behalf of the suspects and accused in the face of the coal of criminal law. The criminal justice system is not limited by my profession. He’s paralyzed after a decade of savage cuts @ 10DowningStreet. “
Jonathan Black, former President of the London Criminal Courts Bar Association, tweeted: “Once again, Johnson did not take responsibility for his party’s role in the collapse of our judicial system. Blame ‘good lawyers’ and left-handed lawyers, many of whom work longer shifts than police officers for lower pay to ensure access to justice and the rule of law. “
Comments were requested from the Ministry of Justice.
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